scholarly journals Potential performance theory (PPT): Describing a methodology for analyzing task performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Trafimow ◽  
Stephen Rice
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Performance Theory ◽  
Potential Performance Theory

scholarly journals The Case for Adding Randomness to the Nature-Nurture Debate

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Stephen Rice ◽  
David Trafimow ◽  
Rian Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Performance Theory ◽  
Genetic Inheritance ◽  
Important Contributor ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
Potential Performance Theory

<p>People dramatically underestimate the role that randomness plays in almost every aspect of human behavior. We show that the typical belief is that a combination of genetic inheritance and environment accounts for all of human behavior. However, in contrast to this belief, we review literature from the tradition of potential performance theory that shows that much human behavior, in a wide variety of domains, is due to randomness. The fact that randomness has been demonstrated to be an important contributor to human behavior, in many domains, suggests that psychologists should take it more seriously. Instead of attempting to account for human behavior solely with genetic and environmental influences, we argue that randomness should be included too. Thus, it is the interaction of genetics, environment, and randomness that produces human behavior, and behavioral researchers should recognize this and adjust their research programs accordingly. </p>

Recognizing the Role of Consistency in a Delayed Memory Task

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1155-1159
Author(s):  
Gayle Schwark ◽  
Stephen Rice ◽  
Lisa Busche ◽  
David Trafimow
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Performance Theory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Memory Decay ◽  
Potential Performance Theory

Past research on short-term memory decay has found that participants are more efficient at remembering information when the delay between stimuli presentation and recall is short as opposed to long. In the current study we used Potential Performance Theory (PPT) to identify the role that both random and systematic factors play in observed memory performance over a delay. We presented participants with a string of letters followed by either a 2-second or 16-second delay. Following the delay, participants were presented with a two alternative forced choice (2AFC) display where they were asked to determine whether the matching string was in the first or second display. The findings indicate that inconsistency is primarily responsible for the decrements in observed performance that can be seen over a time delay. Theoretical and practical applications are discussed.

Using Potential Performance Theory to Test Five Hypotheses About Meta-Attribution

2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Trafimow ◽  
Gayle Hunt ◽  
Stephen Rice ◽  
Kasha Geels
Keyword(s):  
Performance Theory ◽  
Potential Performance Theory

Effects of Concurrent Manual Task Performance on Connected Speech Acoustics in Individuals With Parkinson Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 2099-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Whitfield ◽  
Zoe Kriegel ◽  
Adam M. Fullenkamp ◽  
Daryush D. Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Speech Acoustics ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Manual Task ◽  
Task Conditions

Purpose Prior investigations suggest that simultaneous performance of more than 1 motor-oriented task may exacerbate speech motor deficits in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the extent to which performing a low-demand manual task affected the connected speech in individuals with and without PD. Method Individuals with PD and neurologically healthy controls performed speech tasks (reading and extemporaneous speech tasks) and an oscillatory manual task (a counterclockwise circle-drawing task) in isolation (single-task condition) and concurrently (dual-task condition). Results Relative to speech task performance, no changes in speech acoustics were observed for either group when the low-demand motor task was performed with the concurrent reading tasks. Speakers with PD exhibited a significant decrease in pause duration between the single-task (speech only) and dual-task conditions for the extemporaneous speech task, whereas control participants did not exhibit changes in any speech production variable between the single- and dual-task conditions. Conclusions Overall, there were little to no changes in speech production when a low-demand oscillatory motor task was performed with concurrent reading. For the extemporaneous task, however, individuals with PD exhibited significant changes when the speech and manual tasks were performed concurrently, a pattern that was not observed for control speakers. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8637008

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